Quicker post than I meant to do, but I thought I better get Neal on to the hospital so here he goes! Thanks for reading, reviewing, (Rosie) following and favoriting my story. Sad thing is that I'm not working on another one yet. Real life and work are demanding my time and I haven't been inspired with an idea yet. Hopefully something will hit my brain and I can start another one soon. I own nothing but the mistakes, for which I accept all responsibility. This story WILL have ten chapters; I mean it this time. :)

Chapter Eight

Both men were relieved when the door opened and emergency medics had finally arrived on the scene. Given the piled snow, road closings and general bad traveling conditions, they actually had made good time. It had felt like hours, but in reality had only been a little better than half an hour since the call. The most delay had occurred as they followed the plow to the cabin. This had been accomplished by some Federal weight being thrown around, Derek was certain, because the road to his cabin was no where near the top of any NYDOT priority list.

Agent Burke dropped Neal's hand and yielded his position to allow the medics to attend to his friend. They worked quickly, gathering vital signs, checking the wounds in his abdomen, and starting an IV of fluids immediately. His fever was at 104.2. They were concerned and wasted no time getting him onto the stretcher and loaded into the ambulance.

Even though Derek had been sure that once the Marshals came to take off his unexpected house guest he would never see the man again, when the time actually came, he wasn't prepared for that.

"Do you mind if I tag along?" Derek asked. "After the last twelve hours, I kind of want to see it through, you know?"

"I do," Agent Burke answered, "We will have to walk back out to the highway. That is where the cars are. You can ride with me."

It was mid afternoon before Agent Burke informed Derek that Neal had finally awakened. He had offered to have an officer take him home, but Derek wanted to stay until he could speak to Neal himself. Then and only then was he prepared to leave the hospital.

The first two and a half hours, he and Agent Burke had waited to see when surgery to repair the damage to Neal's abdomen could be performed. The infection had to be managed first, and large amounts of antibiotics were being administered. Burke had seen Neal in the ICU but Derek hadn't gone back. Burke returned with coffee for both of them. The man looked as tired as Derek felt; he guessed that the agent had slept as little the night before as he had.

"He's still not awake," Burke told him. "They said its to be expected after what he's been through, plus its taking all his energy to fight the infection."

"He's going to be okay, though?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, they seem to think so," Burke answered, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Depends on how the surgery goes but they are optimistic. You did a good job with him last night and Neal's a fighter."

Derek was glad he had managed as well as he had and he could well believe that Neal was a fighter. "I can't believe he found my cabin in that storm," Derek said. "Two miles in the dark, through the woods," he shook his head, "Not to mention the condition he was in."

"Neal has a lot of skills," Burke said, "not the least of which are the ones it takes to survive."

"You said he was serving out his sentence in your custody," Derek began "How did that come about, and more interestingly, how did it turn into a friendship?" Burke had said it was complicated and Derek knew that it must be given the circumstances; technically Neal Caffrey was Agent Burke's prisoner. That wasn't the usual way friendships were established.

Derek spent the next half hour learning about Neal Caffrey and his ongoing relationship with Agent Peter Burke. Not only was Peter Burke Neal's captor now, he was also the man who had sent him to prison in the first place. The word complicated came up often.

"How could he possibly have known that?" Derek asked, learning from Burke the way the idea of the tracking device and the unconventional partnership had come up. Identifying a security fiber from a Canadian one hundred dollar bill while the formulation was still classified was impressive; but doing it having been locked in prison for four years would have required nothing sort of telepathy.

"When I asked him his answer was, 'Its what I do.' " The agent shook his head, "And I still don't know. Neal Caffrey is honestly the smartest man I have ever met. He never ceases to amaze me."

Derek knew that Burke cared for his partner, but there was also a deep respect in the man's voice. Derek recalled details of the story. "You caught him because of this girl, Kate, and he broke out of prison for her. Did things work out for them?"

Burke's face told him that was a no. "Big break-up?" Derek guessed.

"More like a big blow up," Burke said uneasily, "The plane they were leaving on exploded right in front of us. Kate was on it." He paused, apparently remembering the horrible event, "Neal would've been too if I hadn't showed up and delayed him. It was everything I could do to keep him from running into the flames after her."

Derek processed that information as he sipped his coffee. He wondered, had Neal had been seeing the love of his life die before his eyes as he thrashed on his sofa the night before? That would certainly explain the raw emotions the man had experienced. The memory of the man sobbing in his arms made the story even more heartbreaking. The weight of that event, coupled with exhaustion, caused a silence to fall between the two men.

The doctor informed then just before eleven that they were ready to go ahead with the surgery; by noon Neal was in recovery. Things had gone well during the surgery and they expected a full recovery. Burke again was the first to go back when the nurse said that Neal was waking. It was less than a half hour later that Burke came to get Derek. Just over eighteen hours after finding the man on his porch, he was finally going to be formally introduced to Neal Caffrey.